taste | e.d

fifteen

Hiiii ;)

- don't forget to vote & comment! and thank you for all the support on this book, it really does mean the world to me and it feels so amazing that I can give to people simply by doing what I love.

- thank you.

- this chapter was one of my favorite chapters to write. hope you like it :)

•••

On the day of the fire, everything started off perfect.

Shannon and I were finally starting to get along after years of a despicable rivalry that started off in seventh grade when I won Vice President in student council instead of her. It seemed like we were always taking things away from each other, but in high school, things got more dramatic when I started taking her boyfriend on accident.

Yes, on accident. I did not think that a hot quarterback like Logan Gilchrist would someday have a crush on me. I was the type girl that got straight A's, went to the library for lunch, and one of the few friends I had was the guidance counselor. I didn't stick out in crowds, and everyone pretty much left me alone.

I'm not sure why Logan decided it'd be a good idea to go behind his cheerleader girlfriend's back to try to "win my heart," but even though I did like him, I knew it was not going to end well.

Logan had kissed me one afternoon by the boys' locker room and Shannon had caught him. I pushed him away from me and luckily Shannon noticed my retreat. It could have been a lot worse for me. Shannon punched him in the face, broke up with him, and led me away from the mess.

From that day forward, we were strung together. We hung out more. I learned to like her because of how different yet similar we were, despite the way we reacted to attention. She got a lot of it, and I wanted it but didn't get it. I didn't like being an introvert—it just came naturally—so she helped me improve my wardrobe and gave me a makeover and soon enough I was hanging with her and the other popular kids. By the end of senior year, everyone knew who I was.

One of the parties I had gotten invited to was on a Friday night, and restricted to everyone but seniors. Graduation was coming up soon, and after that we didn't know where the road would take many of us, so we had to party as much as we could before our freedom would become limited.

I was video chatting with Shannon as I asked my mom if she would let me go, but my mom had told me no because we had to go see Gran and Gramps up in Tennessee the following morning. I had protested, even insulted her and dad.

"Baby, it's just one party," Mom said. "There will be plenty more in the future."

"Mom!" I yelled. "I'm about to graduate! Gran and Gramps aren't going anywhere! Can I just stay here?"

Mom had given me that look where I knew I could no longer argue against her, with her arms crossed, her mouth pressed into a straight line, and her eyebrow curved upward.

My dad came into the living room, asking what all the hullabaloo was about. Mom had explained it to him and all he did was shake his head.

"God! Y'all don't understand, do you? I hope you'd just die! My life would be so much easier!"

My mom's eyes went wide and my dad's ears turned red.